Category: Nature

Double Rainbow on Upper Yosemite Fall

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Copyright ©2011- 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved

Another waterfall from my Archives. On my birthday in 2011 I hiked up Upper Yosemite trail and was rewarded with a Double Rainbow at the base of Upper Yosemite Fall. It’s a steep and arduous hike, but well worth the effort.
I lost my favorite Hobbie sunglasses over the railing here. They fell a LONG way. 🙂

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 1735@ 20mm| f5| 1/2000second| ISO 160| Manual Priority| Matrix Metering| Hand-held- there wasn’t much room for my tripod on this ledge.

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Mossbrea Falls

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Mossbrea Falls, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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Copyright © 2011 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

One from my archive. This fall is in Northern CA. It’s quite an adventure to get to it. There is no trail to the fall. One must walk along railroad tracks for about a mile. Trains still use the track so you might have to jump out-of-the-way and wait for the train to pass on your way to or from the fall.

Once there if it’s been a wet season you’re rewarded with a wall of water cascading down the mountain. I believe the length of the wall or mountain side that the fall cascades down is as long as a football field. I had to shoot it in bits and pieces To take it all in at once was a bit overwhelming at first. The only way I could “see” to photograph it was to break it down into manageable frames.
I’ve looked at my photos off and on since I took them never being motivated to process them beyond a few basic adjustments then I saved them as PSD’s, closed the file and moved on.
I took another look at the “works in progress” over the week-end because I’m planning to pass this way again next month and I’d like to revisit the fall on my way north.
While looking at them again I finished a few photos here’s the first.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 17-35mm| B+W Neutral Density filter 0.9

 

Along the fence

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Flowers, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights ReservedAlong the fence in Spring
Another photo from my outing with Rene and Rainey last week-end. I love nature’s bouquets. Here there is Lupine, California Poppies, Common Owl’s Clover, and Fiddle-necks.

The bees were buzzing around here, and the day was warm. The cloud cover really made the colors pop by diffusing the light a bit.  This is my favorite time of year in California when all the hills are green and colorful.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 1735@ 25mm| f14| 1/160sec| ISO 200| Manual Priority| Matrix metering| Single Servo AF| Tripod

 

 

The Nature Trail at Villa Montalvo

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Danbo, hikes, Landscapes, Nature, Nikon, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved

I needed to get out and stretch my legs, but wanted to stay close to home so I went over to Villa Montalvo to hike up to Lookout Point.

Villa Montalvo located in Saratoga, CA  is now called Montalvo Arts Center. The 175 acre property was originally owned by James Duval Phelan (1861-1930), a 3 term Mayor of San Francisco, and later he became a Senator.  The house an Historic Landmark was built in 1912.

“At his death, Senator Phelan was explicit in his bequest of Villa Montalvo. “I would like the property at Saratoga, California, known as Villa Montalvo, to be maintained as a public park open under reasonable restrictions, the buildings and grounds immediately surrounding the same to be used as far as possible for the development of art, literature, music, and architecture by promising students.”~ Montalvo Arts Center

Today it offers art courses, performing arts events, gallery exhibitions, educational opportunities, artist residencies and hiking in beautiful woodland trails, or exploring the gardens.

Villa Montalvo from the great lawnThe trail-head from Parking Lot 3-This Pavilion is called  The Belvedere  is an original structure from the Senator’s days.

The Trailhead

At the beginning of the Nature you hike through Oak and Laurel woodlands

Nature TrailAlong this part of the Nature Trail there are signs of Spring. Indian Warrior, and White clusters are in bloom.

Tower Lousewort ? White ClusterSoon you begin a steeper ascent and enter the Redwood Forest

Seeing the trees_7295

…and before you know it you’re at the top at Lookout Point looking over Santa Clara Valley. There was Vog on this morning.  It’s only a 1.1 mile hike up to the Lookout Point from the Pavilion. It’s nice to have a beautiful trail close to home to stretch my legs.

Danbo Lookout Point Villa Montalvo

Danbo wants to head home and points the way.

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Red-breasted Sapsucker

Posted in Birds, California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, NikonTagged , , , 2 Comments

Red-breasted Sapsucker, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved

I have to give a HUGE shout out to my friend Alex who shared this find with me and a few other friends. Thank you Alex!
It’s the first time I’ve seen this woodpecker.

Also a Big Thank you to Dali for driving us today!
It was a fun day and good to hang out with you all.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 80-200@200 + Tamron 1.4x TC+= 300mm| 1/ 100s| ISO 1250 | Manual Priority| Tripod

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Hybrid-Crested Pekin Mallard?

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

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Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved

On my recent jaunt up to Lake Merritt to find the Tufted Duck I was walking past a little enclosed pond when I spotted this duck. I had to call Phil over to see it since it was unique.
Neither of us knew what the name of this duck was and we planned to do some research to see if we could figure it out. Phil got on it straight-away. He found very little information out there, but he did find a photo with a duck that looks like this one and it was called a Hybrid-Crested Pekin Mallard.
Bred for the little Pom-Pom on their heads I’m sure!
Anyone know anything about this breed?

This pond was pretty dirty  so, I did a little work in PS to clean it up, but as you see it’s still a mess. The disadvantage of a small pond I guess.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 80200@ 112m + Tamron 1.4x TC| f8| 1/250s| ISO 400| Manual Priority| Hand-held

 

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Horsetail Fall 2013

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , , 4 Comments
Horsetail Fall 2013, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved

This is the 4th yr I’ve gone up to Yosemite trying to capture the natural light show that happens when conditions are just right. For a week or so in February and October during sunset the sun lines up with the fall, and if there is water running down the fall the sunlight will turn the water red like lava or fire.

This year we had more snow on El Capitan than last year, and the day was sunny, but it was cold up there, and it’s been rather dry with no rain for awhile so there wasn’t as much water as we hoped for.
We did get some lovely color and the wind kicked up a little so we were treated to the mist lighting up at the top of the fall.

Every year it has looked different, and I’m hoping one year the fall will be spewing tons of water, and the sun is shining brightly.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 80-200mm| Tripod

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